The Uniontown Sausage Festival has been operating since 1954. It was started to raise money for their school, which later became the Uniontown Community Building. They decided to sell sausage to raise money for the school. It proved to be fairly popular with people. Since then, it has become a yearly fundraiser that keeps the building operational for the local food pantry, youth groups, the American Legion and community events.
The sausage in use is an old German recipe, that is seasoned and smoked to perfection. It is the best sausage in the region according to Julie Hartwig, the PR director for the event. Hartwig said that the Wolf family were the ones who crafted this recipe, and since then their grandchildren have continued making this delicious sausage.
“All the guys in town volunteered to make sausage,” Hartwig said. “There’s usually a good group, at least 20 guys making sausage.”
The men make 2000 pounds of sausage every year for the Sausage Feed. It does not disappoint consumers. When I asked what the secret ingredient in the sausage that makes it so good, she said, “I’d tell you, but I’d have to kill you.” It’s a closely guarded secret that only the descendants of the family know. It proves to hold up after all this time because the original recipe is still used to this day.
Hartwig said on a good year, they can get up to 1500 people at their fundraiser. Hartwig said the line can stretch all the way around the local gym for people wanting their meals.
They aren’t just getting sausage, the fundraising meal includes mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, green beans, applesauce, roll and pie. Hartwig said that people can choose up to five flavors, such as pecan, chocolate, cherry, berry and pumpkin pie. The fixings have historically been included with the sausage since it was first introduced.
Normally, the Sausage Feed would be held in the community building, complete with a beer, garden and live music. However, this year they will be offering a drive-thru line to deliver people their meals. Hartwig said they were glad that they were able to host the Feed this year. It didn’t get canceled last year, but Hartwig said a lot of people ordered takeout from the festival. Since November they had planning to make sure that the event was safe for everyone. Hartwig said that they were approved by the board of health.
People can purchase their dinners either online or in-person with either cash or check. The dinner is $13, they ask that people have the correct change to make the line go faster.
The Sausage Feed is Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 7, at the Uniontown Community Building.
Ryan Hill can be reached at [email protected]